


Alter Ego

by benit149



Category: Fate/Grand Order
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-14
Updated: 2020-12-05
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:53:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 16,061
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27565573
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/benit149/pseuds/benit149
Summary: Another Connie and Connla Alter short. The siblings dive into Connie's dream and try to be rid of her inner demons, but they are met with an even greater challenge.





	1. Alter Ego Pt. I

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is another continuation of the Connie and Connla Alter continuity that I write on the side along with some other authors on DeviantArt. Connie (aka female Connla) belongs to me. Connla Alter belongs to Skyarmyrecurit1000. Rin Matou, Miss Matou and Davion Ramos belong to Xela-the-Conqueror. Please enjoy!

* * *

It was approaching the early evening hours, but Connie completely failed to notice the passage of time. She was so preoccupied with her studies, all dedicated towards helping Miss Matou – an alternate variant of her Master Rin Matou - control her otherworldly abilities. In short, due to a particular alteration with her magic, Miss Matou’s abilities caused massive disruptions to technology, so even just passing by the Rayshifting chamber could potentially destroy it. Connie and her instructor Davion were trying to figure out a way to cancel this effect so Miss Matou’s presence would not cause so much unintentional destruction.

Connie used whatever Runecraft she knew of to devise various beta solutions. Her latest project involved tapping into the concept of Transferal – that was, directing Miss Matou’s excess energy into an external object or device for storage purposes. Much like how wind turned windmills, or dams powered turbines to generate power, her thought was that Miss Matou was a living battery who could transfer exorbitant amounts of energy into something like a crystal, staff, or even a bomb, in order to regulate her magical capacity and lower it to safe levels so she could safely approach technological devices. From there, Miss Matou could potentially break the object open like an egg and regain her abilities when needed.

That wasn’t the only idea Connie and Davion had, but this was the Lancer’s current approach in her studies. It was most complicated for foreign magics from other fictional worlds to be transformed into something workable in this realm since the rules were always so different. Her job was to assist Davion with creating substitute magic formulas that could function in this world.

_Raido for transferal… Eiwaz attached to something made out of yew for storage… Algiz for sealing… Berkana for liberating the energy… What if I added Tiwaz on top of Algiz so that the seal is extra secure? I could try Kaunan as the release mechanism, but its symbolism of fire, malady and death might put Miss Matou in unnecessary danger, like trying to cut the red wire or the blue wire on a live bomb. And what would happen with the energy once the seal is broken? Would it go back into her, or simply go berserk? Would there be a way to control the energy after the fact so it responds to her commands, or will it function independently from her?_

Connie yawned, rubbed her groggy eyes, and blankly stared at the complex Runic formulas she had scribbled on numerous pages. It all might have made sense to her at some point, but right now it looked like total gibberish. She thought she was on to something, but there were still too many questions running rampant in her mind. She reached for her mug of coffee, but realized it was empty.

“Aw man…” she muttered and was about to get up to make some more.

Suddenly, a second mug was smacked on the table next to her. She jumped in surprise, then discovered that someone had approached her from behind and unceremoniously plunked the cup. Knowing who it was, she glanced up at the young man and grumbled, “What’s with you? You could have knocked or something.”

“You’ve been cooping yourself in here for too long,” Connla Alter retorted. “What about your training? Aren’t you going to do something about catching up with Kojirou or whatever?”

“You’re impossible, you know that? If I train too hard, you get grumpy. But if I take it easy and do my studies for too long, you also get grumpy. Isn’t there such a thing as a happy middle ground for you?”

“Isn’t there such a thing as ‘all things in moderation’ for you? Whatever hobby you get into, you always wind up going too far with it. I always have to butt in and make sure you don’t collapse from exhaustion.”

“Geez!” Connie huffed and glared away from her brother, then guzzled some coffee. “I still haven’t thought of anything about how to get stronger. But I think the problems surrounding Miss Matou are way more important than mine, and they need to be addressed right away if she wants to continue staying at Chaldea. There isn’t any particular hurry to improve my strength anyway. Kojirou said that he’ll wait as long as needed for me to catch up to him.”

“Still throwing yourself under the bus, I see. Well, suit yourself. Just don’t blame me if you wind up being too weak to fight the next big bad that shows their ugly mug.”

“I’ll be fine. I took down Magog, after all.”

“Damn it,” Connla Alter cursed. “I still can’t believe I haven’t been called upon to fight a big opponent like that. If it had been me, that ass-ugly ape would have been butchered within two minutes, without any help from the other Servants. Knowing Cu Alter though, he’d just bitch about how I didn’t kill it within one minute or less.”

“You still need to go through your first Ascension process,” she reminded him. That was when she felt a peculiar yet comfortable buzz wash through her head and chest. “T-That is… you really should be… farming for Embers… if you… want your stats to… be at… full potential…”

She felt rather tipsy, and she would have fallen sideways off her chair had he not caught her. She shifted her eyes to the coffee mug, then mumbled, “You didn’t…”

“Sorry, kid. This is the only way I can get you to cooperate with me.”

Alter knew that once Connie drank the coffee that he laced with powerful sedatives, she would pass out very shortly afterward. Once she was fast asleep, he hauled her onto his back piggyback style and sauntered out of the library back to her room. Before leaving though, he found Davion and told him, “I’m putting Connie down for the night.”

“Oh? You’re one of her brothers, aren’t you?” the Dragonborn wondered. “She told me a bit about you, but I believe this is the first time we’re meeting.”

“Don’t get chummy with me. I don’t go for fraternizing.”

“Heh heh, right. She mentioned how abrasive you are as well. By the way, did she make any progress with her work?”

“How should I know? I don’t get even a fraction of that shit she’s researching. If you wanna know that badly, her notes are still on the desk.”

Davion nodded and allowed Connla Alter to leave. The Alter Ego walked through the halls quietly, knowing of a route where he wouldn’t run into anyone else who would bother him. He entered her room and set her down on the bed, then turned off the light and sat on the chair. He took out a small brown bottle from his armor, then consumed its contents in one gulp. It was the same sedative he tricked Connie into drinking, so it wasn’t long before he too conked out. He did this on purpose though, since he had a specific objective in mind that required both Connlas to be asleep.

About 30 minutes after Connla Alter passed out, the door to the room whirred open. In stepped two figures – one was dressed in a sky blue hooded robe, while the other’s body was adorned with numerous spikes and he had a long thorny tail snaking along his backside. The first man kneeled before the siblings and waved his gloved hand in the air, conjuring a series of Runes that allowed him to look into their Spirit Origins.

“Well? What do you think?” the second man asked in a hushed, guttural voice.

“Kind of hard to believe, but it seems to be true. It’s much stronger now that they’re asleep.”

“I thought so.”

“I’m surprised you caught on to this. I barely even noticed, and I’m supposed to be the Caster among us.”

“Can’t say I really ‘noticed’ anything about them, but I just found the idiot’s behavior in battle a little too similar to the kid’s back when he was training with me.”

“Similar? In what way?”

The tailed man shrugged. “Something like an identical battle frenzy? Or the way they move? Or perhaps it was their latent passion as warriors.”

The robed fellow raised an eyebrow. “You’re not making much sense.”

“A spell-flinger like you wouldn’t get the intricacies of reading your opponents in the heat of battle. Well, let’s just get in there and find out the truth for ourselves.”

“Yeah…” the first man muttered, then turned to the siblings and whispered, “Sorry, guys, but we’re just gonna infiltrate your dreams for a bit. There’s something we want to make sure of.”

* * *

Connie slept atop a pile of rubble that once used to be a building, but had long since collapsed to the ground. She got to her knees and looked around. She looked to be in the middle of a modern metropolis that had been abandoned for hundreds of years. Vines crept along the sides of skyscrapers, lamp posts and traffic lights, and even a few trees had taken root inside of apartment complexes and various restaurants. None of this foliage was pleasant to look at though. The leaves looked grey and dead, and whatever flowers bloomed on the vines were a sinister deep red color. The color of the sky was the creepiest aspect of this weird place, as if it was stained with bright crimson blood. Any buildings that remained standing appeared pitch black against this abyssal canvas.

Connie grew apprehensive. Was she in danger? How did she get here? Where was even ‘here’ to begin with? Was this place a potential Singularity in the works? Although she didn’t want to leave the safety of the spot she woke up on, she forced herself to get up and look around. Daring not to say a word, she passed through several streets that had abandoned cars parked along the way. The only signs of life in this dead world were the few traffic lights that continued to function as intended.

She suddenly stopped. Some kind of tapping sound skitted along the pavement directly behind her. She whirled her head around, but she didn’t see anything. Then it happened again, this time to her side. Her heart pounded erratically. She knew for sure that something was following her. The Lancer activated a Ken Rune and conjured a small tornado around herself, not to attack the intruder but rather to track its movements.

_Read the wind. Pick out the disruption, and strike._

This was a trick Connie picked up while training under Scathach. Due to her high affinity with the wind element, she could sense disturbances within a strong breeze. Those with Presence Concealment or invisibility could not escape the influence of the omnipresent wind, which allowed her to pick her enemy out and force them into the open. This opponent wasn’t using any clever tricks to hide its presence though; it was just really fast on its feet.

Luckily, Connie was faster. Once she figured out where they were hiding, she launched herself into a dark alley and swung her spear in a wide horizontal arc. The weapon made contact with something hard. She couldn’t see what she hit, but her opponent’s giggle sounded weirdly high-pitched… almost downright childish, in a way. She was suddenly blasted out of the alleyway, and she vaulted in midair to regain her balance before landing.

Then she saw it. A spidery creature crawled out of the darkness on four long legs sharpened into talons. They were attached to the shoulders of a black humanoid figure with a head made completely out of two columns of polished blunt teeth. Connie’s senses numbed with terror.

_Lahmu!_

This was indeed the same monster from the Babylonian Singularity. The child Servant had no idea why one of these abominations was here, or what its purpose was in attacking her. She had no time to think about it though, as the Lahmu giggled emphatically and hurled its weight at her, slashing its razor-sharp talons on her spear. She fiercely glared as it spoke in foreign gibberish, _“Oooh, a new playmate! Play with me, play with me! Let’s have lots of fun together!”_

“Gh!”

_“What do you wanna do first? Stuff some puppies in a burlap sack and drown them? Kidnap a toddler and blow their brains out with a gun? Send anthrax to someone you hate? Come on, tell me, tell me!”_

**_“Get lost!”_** Connie raged and blasted an Ansuz Rune at the monster’s ‘face’, causing a fireball to explode inside the enlarged mouth. The headless Lahmu dropped dead on the road, and the Lancer gasped in relief while collapsing onto her buttocks. Even though she kept commanding her legs to move, her entire body shivered against her volition.

_I don’t want to be here! Where’s the exit!? I have to find it!_

Connie finally scrambled to her feet and ran out of the area. As she kept fleeing, she heard more prickly skid noises surrounding her from behind. A second Lahmu leapt directly above her and dropped like a heavy weight, pointing its talons at her head. She managed to hurl herself aside just seconds before it impacted the pavement, causing debris to fly everywhere.

_“Don’t go!”_ the Lahmu implored. _“I wanna dance with you! Let’s dance until you drop dead!”_

Connie couldn’t understand what it was saying, so she interpreted it as some kind of threat. As it reared its claws, she cast a Tiwaz Rune on her fist and punched its stomach with enough force to dismember a Jötunn. The Lahmu was split into halves and fell on the ground as a soupy mess of black blood and guts. She heard more giggling from above and discovered at least five more Lahmu crawling along the nearby buildings like gigantic spiders.

_This is impossible! I kill one, and a dozen more show up to replace it!_

_“Hi there, cutie!”_ one Lahmu commented and licked its lips.

She fired a bevy of fireballs at them. They leapt over the projectiles and landed around the Servant in a circular formation, completely surrounding her. Acting on raw instinct, she pressed her hand on the pavement and cast a spell.

_“What are you doing?”_ another Lahmu wondered curiously, then approached her. _“Are you gonna show us something fun?”_

Suddenly, it was shred into tiny pieces of black flesh as a massive wind gust exploded around Connie. The other monsters were taken aback by this instant spell. When things settled down, they discovered that their prey was missing. She had used a high-powered Ken Rune to launch herself several hundred meters above them, and she crashed through a dilapidated window into an empty office building. The creatures heard the shattering noise and looked up.

_“Oooh, you wanna play tag? Sounds like fun! Then we’re all it! Whoever catches you gets to play with you!”_ a Lahmu laughed, and the four surviving monsters took chase. The lead Lahmu immediately headed through the same window that Connie took.

_“Uuh? Something’s shining…”_

A dozen Ansuz Runes that Connie left behind exploded simultaneously, incinerating the monster into ashes. Its companions halted their progress, and one creature muttered, _“What a tricky playmate.”_

Inside the building’s stairway, the Lancer tightly gripped the railing to keep herself steady during the blast. She leapt over and dropped down to the ground floor, then went through another door and took the path down to the basement parking lot. Her footsteps echoed within the expansive modern cavern, where only less than ten cars were left behind to fall victim to the elements. She almost reached the road leading to the surface, but the remaining Lahmu suddenly obstructed her.

She narrowed her eyes and thought, _Just three, huh? This space isn’t ideal for fighting, but at least the numbers are a little more manageable._

_“Found you, found you! What a bad playmate you are! You’re supposed to be the victim, not us!”_ a Lahmu taunted.

_“Punish her! Punish her!”_

_“Yes, let’s punish her! Hee hee hee hee hee!”_

The first creature charged at Connie and slashed its blade-like leg, but she vaulted high on her spear to avoid it. She elegantly whirled herself around the pole and delivered a kick to its backside, knocking it face-first onto the pavement. Another monster attempted to approach her, but she snatched her weapon and flailed it about in a violent frenzy. The blade carved into the ceiling, ground, and monster without remorse, chopping it into bloody bits.

_“Whoooa, you’re good!”_ the last standing creature remarked. _“This is the best fun I’ve ever had in my life! Show me more, show me more!”_

Both Lancer and Lahmu rushed at each other and swiped their weapons at each other frantically. Sparks rained around them multiple times as they leapt, danced, and struggled to gain the advantage over the other. Connie soon won this battle when she tumbled below a swiping talon, then swung her spear high to swiftly decapitate her opponent. She couldn’t celebrate this victory however, as she sensed the first Lahmu get back up and thrust its blade at her head. Her eyes widened in sheer horror.

The talon was inches away from slicing her neck…

Without warning, an entire car was hurled at the beast. It was crushed to death beneath the weight of tons of steel, and both monster and vehicle crashed on the other side of the parking lot in an unceremonious heap. Connie momentarily forgot to breathe as she gaped in awe at this surprise attack. She looked over to see who was responsible, and discovered a familiar indigo-armored fellow glaring at her while casually shouldering Gae Bolg. The red crystal functioning as his artificial heart glowed in the darkness.

“There you are,” Connla Alter said tersely. “You have any idea how much of a pain in the ass it was to find you?”

“Alter! What are you doing here!?” Connie exclaimed and ran up to him. However, the closer she got to him, the more she realized just how short she was. After aging up to a teenager, she was used to her eye level reaching around his shoulders, but now she had to crane her head up. This was starting to feel a little too familiar for her liking, so she looked at her hands and feet.

Connla Alter smirked and remarked, “Looks like you’ve gone back to being a little kid.”

“Eh!? W-W-What is this!? Why am I a child again!?”

“Relax. We’re inside a dream.”

“A dream?”

“Not just any dream either. It’s like we’re meeting inside each others’ heads, and the ‘world’ being produced is a dream comprised of the garbage you’ve allowed to build up inside your subconsciousness.”

“Um…” Connie mumbled, unsure of what her brother was talking about. How did he know so much about what was going on? More than that though, why were they the only ones present?

“Sheesh, talk about a dump,” Connla Alter complained as he stomped his foot upon a Lahmu’s skull, crushing it to pieces with a pulpy splash. “Everywhere I look, there’s nothing but giggling bugs, fetid hounds, and wrathful spirits. Is there really this much crap you’ve got stored in your mind?”

She tilted her head puzzledly. “I don’t understand what you mean.”

“God, do I have to explain everything to you? Take a hint already. These monsters represent a Servant’s negative emotions, which hold them back from releasing their true potential. I may have some bad mojo going on, but everything I’ve been killing so far actually belongs to you.”

“So, um… These aren’t real monsters, but just representations of me?”

“Yeah,” Alter grinned. “On their own they aren’t a threat, especially since you’ve done a good job of repressing your darker impulses. The problem is the vast amount of rubbish you’ve allowed to pile up inside your subconsciousness. You’ve been neglecting to sort your shit out for so long that those emotions are beginning to affect you physically. You might seem fine on the surface, but you’re literally eating yourself away from the inside out.”

Connie was beginning to get the gist of things, but something still bewildered her. Despite Connla Alter being a violent psychopath, he seemed strangely versed in anything and everything that had to do with her, from her physical well-being all the way to her subconscious thoughts. It was as if he knew her better than she knew herself, and it was starting to spook her a little.

Connla Alter turned on his heel and led Connie out of the parking lot as he continued, “You don’t know it, but I’ve actually been jumping into your mind like this whenever you go to sleep.”

She had no idea how to react to his revelation. She certainly wasn’t aware of him intruding her subconscious mind like this, and on a regular basis too. The girl was so shaken up with everything that had happened just now that she opted not to say anything that could potentially sound stupid to him.

“You’re getting nervous, aren’t you?” he asked. “Can’t say I blame you. If I had some weirdo waltz up to me and say that to me, I’d be pretty stressed out too.”

“How do you… know this about me? How do you understand such an ugly side of myself that not even I’m not aware of?”

Connla Alter didn’t respond. Some kind of sixth sense stirred within Connie as she stared at his furrowed brow and pronounced frown. She knew he was growing irritated with her precociousness, though he understood that she was incredibly confused about all of this.

She decided to try asking a different question, so she wondered, “Um… So, if you’ve been diving into my dreams and fighting those monsters secretly, what makes this time so different? Why are you making me aware of this now?”

“That’s easy. I’ve been picking up the biggest garbage pile I’ve ever seen – probably about the size of a small island. It’ll be impossible for me to fight it on my own, so I decided to drag your conscious mind here and make you see it for yourself. You help me beat it up, then wake up and do something so this doesn’t happen again.”

“You mean you know what’s creating this particularly huge monster?”

“Damn straight. It’s your tendency to overwork, and the belief that you can only find your place in society if you exert yourself too much for others’ benefit.”

“Oh…”

He spit off to the side and scoffed, “That side of you makes me sick. It’s the result of Aife treating you like her personal maid and punching bag. You don’t understand the concept of being rewarded for your efforts, as if you’re an exhausted chicken pumping out a dangerous number of eggs just for a small scrap of feed as payment. If we don’t do something about this quickly, those feelings could potentially gain their own Spirit Origin and be summoned as a Servant, perhaps even as an enemy that Chaldea has to fight.”

Connie fidgeted her hands together, then murmured forlornly, “I’m sorry… I had no idea I was causing so much trouble for you.”

“Geez, will you stop it already?” Connla Alter bitterly snapped. “It’s no trouble for me. Even if it’s a pain in the ass, I chose to put myself through the hassle. No one else can do it but me anyway.”

“Why you? What’s your connection with me anyway, besides us being variants of the same Heroic Spirit?”

“Well… It’s kind of hard to explain.”

“Sounds like you just don’t want to tell me.”

“Fine, so I don’t. Is there a problem with that?”

Connie hummed curiously. She certainly wanted to prod him for more answers, but she was afraid she would completely lose the plot without understanding her inner demons first. Her top priority was to assist him in taking down whatever this giant fiend was, then escape from this dream realm. Alter stopped in the middle of the road, then said, “Can’t see a damn thing from here. We should go somewhere higher up so we have a better view of the ocean.”

“Mm.”

The siblings hopped and bounded along the sides of tall buildings until they reached the top of a skyscraper’s lightning rod. From here, they saw that numerous structures sunk into the encroaching sea, which resembled pure blood due to the red sky’s ominous lighting. It looked incredibly eerie, and somewhat sad from Connie’s perspective.

Connla Alter raised his hand over his brows and muttered, “That’s odd.”

“What’s the matter?”

“For some reason, I’m not picking up this giant monster.”

“What do you mean? If you say it’s as large as an island, doesn’t that mean it’s just hiding underwater?”

“This hellscape is practically my backyard at this point, and nothing ever escapes my notice. I’d know right away if the big boss was trying to mask its presence.”

“So we don’t have to fight it. What a relief.”

He snarled, “Not so fast, kid. If I can’t sense the giant anywhere, that means it’s been already eradicated.”

Now Connie was absolutely confused. She didn’t possess this strange, precognitive ability that her brother had, so she couldn’t feel the presence of her own inner demons roaming around. Even the Lahmu that ambushed her earlier didn’t give off any sort of warning signs to her. All she could do was take Alter’s word for it, and his ramblings were making less and less sense. She remembered something important he said though, and wondered, “But you brought me here to help you fight it, right? That means you couldn’t have killed it.”

“Right. It must have been slain while I was looking for you.”

“By who?”

“That’s the million dollar question…” he clenched his teeth. His canine fangs seemed to sharpen on their own in response to his trepidation. “It might have been some other dark aspect of your mind that I don’t know about making contact with the first one and slaying it. The trouble is that there’s nothing I don’t know about this place. I’ve picked out dozens of different negative emotions you’ve been experiencing, and that ‘overworking’ aspect of yours is the most prominent of them all.”

She tensed up and gasped, “So then, could it be some other intruder?”

Connla Alter narrowed his eyes. “Possibly. An exceptionally powerful one, too.”

“They’d singlehandedly have to take down a monster that we both would have had to work together to defeat.”

“Exactly. At least I can appreciate you catching on to things quickly.”

“Oh, my…” she murmured worriedly. “What do we do? Should we look for this intruder or get the heck out of here?”

“Guess we better bail while we can,” he said, then closed his eyes and concentrated on forcing both of them to wake back up. However, some kind of shock struck his head, and he let out a startled cry!

“Alter!” Connie squealed and helped the stunned warrior stand upright. “Are you okay!?”

“Ugh… Fucking hell. Looks like our demon-slaying friend doesn’t want us to leave.”

“What happened?”

“This entire dream world has been sealed inside a Bounded Field made out of Runecraft.”

She was surprised to hear this, so she used her own Runes to scan the skies. To her astonishment, she found a series of complex Runic formulas generating a massive barrier around the sinking city, reminiscent of a snow globe. Connla Alter continued to curse, “Son of a fucking bitch… They got me good. I barely noticed that we were trapped.”

After her inspection, Connie yelped, “My word, these formulas are way, _way_ too advanced for me to crack! It’s like a mathematical cypher that changes every few seconds! I’d probably be here for a hundred years and still never decipher it!”

“Figures. So the perp offs the big bad monster, then locks us inside the dungeon. What the hell gives? It’s like they’re telling us, ‘We’re here. Come and get us if you can.’”

“Perhaps that’s what it is. They must have killed the monster because it was in the way of us meeting with them. They wouldn’t go through the effort of generating such a strong barrier Rune if they didn’t want to talk with us.”

“Sounds plausible,” Connla Alter nodded in agreement, then stood up and brushed himself off. “Well then, let’s take them up on their kind invitation and slaughter them so we can get out of here.”

“Are you fine? You looked like you were in a lot of pain.”

“Just a little shock. No big deal. You’re the one who should get ready for the fight of your life anyway. The monster we were supposed to fight was strong enough to level this entire city. Whoever our friend is has to be even stronger than that.”

“And they can use advanced Runecraft…” Connie murmured.

Both siblings had a strong hunch as to who could be responsible, but they didn’t want to make any rash assumptions before meeting the intruder. They left the discussion at that and flew back down to the surface using Connie’s wind magic. They ran along the empty roads as fast as possible for a few minutes, but nothing looked unusual. In fact, the silence itself was unsettling to them, considering how many Lahmu had attacked Connie. At this point, they’d be happy to take an ambush over this unnerving stillness.

“Are you sure we’re going in the right direction?” she asked her irritated brother.

“Positive. The monster may be dead, but I can still pick up its miasma.”

“Hard to believe that I can’t sense it, and this is supposed to be my own dream.”

“You’re just not accustomed to this place yet.”

“I don’t think I _want_ to be accustomed to it.”

As they ran along what was once the main road out towards the highway, a flash of light caught their eyes. It quickly grew in size until they realized it was a gigantic fireball heading their way.

“WHOA!?” they cried out at the exact moment the spell blasted a large crater in the road. Their rapid forward momentum suddenly snapped into backwards flight, hurtling them high into the air. The siblings had to regain their senses and correct their trajectory within milliseconds to land on their feet. It happened so quickly for Connie that she lost her balance and fell onto her buttocks.

Connla Alter summoned Gae Bolg into his hands and glared at the rising smoke. He detected a tall figure standing within, and they broke through the billowing fumes to flail their own Gae Bolg at him. Connla Alter kicked Connie out of the way, then blocked the oncomer’s furious attack. They were caught in a crazed dance of violence and movement as they struggled to overcome the other. Connie was so shocked by the spectacle that she didn’t notice more light flashes heading her way. Once she did though, she vaulted onto her feet and dashed away from her brother’s fight to misdirect the volley of smaller fireballs raining around her. She took cover behind a semi trailer truck and waited for the barrage to finish, then returned with her own series of fireballs.

Connla Alter initially couldn’t see who he was fighting within the darkness, but the man’s fringed hood, spiked spear, and centipede-like tail immediately alarmed him. He channeled magical energy into his Gae Bolg and swung as hard as possible, knocking his foe about 50 feet back. Now under the dim light of a broken streetlight, the warrior was revealed to be Cuchulainn Alter. Then a blue-robed figure wielding a wooden staff jumped from atop a building and landed next to his partner. He turned out to be Cuchulainn Caster.

“No way!” Connie yelped. “I thought it would just be Caster! Why is Alter here too!?”

Cu Caster lowered his hood and smiled, “Hey there, missy. Sorry for the unannounced visit.”

Connla Alter became angry as he demanded, “What’s the meaning of this? Why the hell are you two butting into this?”

“Hey, is that any way to greet your dad? You could be a little friendlier and give us a hello, you know.”

“Shut it. Any respect I’ve had for you is gone.”

“Aw, that’s hurts…”

Cu Alter turned to his son with a languid glare, then retorted to Caster, “Enough with the small talk. You put the kid through the paces. I’ll teach the boy a lesson about respecting those who are stronger than him.”

“Roger!” Cu Caster replied, then pointed his staff at the surprised Connie. Cu Alter likewise got into his combat stance, ready to fight against Connla Alter.


	2. Alter Ego, Pt. II

**ALTER EGO, Pt. II**

With a loud roar, Connla Alter twirled Gae Bolg in his hand and lunged at Cu Alter with all his might. Ironically, it was the Berserker who maintained his calm and viciously grinned at his out-of-control son. The Alter Ego took that as an insult and lashed out wildly, swiping and swinging his Gae Bolg in a desperate attempt to wipe that stupid smirk off of his opponent’s face.

“That won’t work!” Cu Alter declared, then swung just once.

“Gah!?” Connla Alter yelled, skidding several feet backwards. That single blow was so powerful that he wasn’t prepared to fend it off. While he was off-balance, the Mad King charged at him and pointed his blade at his exposed midsection. Connla Alter just barely managed to deflect it, then he grabbed his father’s long hair and forcefully bashed their foreheads together. Blood dripped from their heads, but the younger warrior wasn’t done yet. He bared his sharpened teeth and bit down hard on Cu Alter’s shoulder, taking a decent bite-sized chunk of flesh off.

The pain was certainly mind-numbing, but the Berserker ignored it through sheer willpower and grabbed Connla Alter’s throat. He lifted him off his feet, then slammed him head-first into the pavement. The Alter Ego was stunned for a moment, and he watched as Cu Alter raised his foot to try and stab him with his pointed heel.

Connie noticed that her brother was having some trouble, so she hopped forth and tumbled along the ground into a crouching position while avoiding some spells flung by Cu Caster. She cast an intense light spell, then thrust her palms forth and unleashed it at Cu Alter while shouting, “Dagaz!”

“Tch!” he snarled and covered his eyes with his arm, blocking out the blinding light but leaving him vulnerable to Connla Alter’s back attack. Cu Alter lowered his spear at the same time Connla Alter raised his. The air itself reverberated, and both warriors were pushed back by the incredible force.

The siblings stood back-to-back as they faced their respective opponents and breathed heavily. Connie couldn’t help but admit, “They’re as tough as I thought…”

“What’s the matter? Are you guys reaching your limits?” Cu Caster wondered. “We haven’t even started yet and your breath already sounds so labored.”

“Shut up,” Connla Alter snapped. “There’s no way anyone else should be in this dream. Furthermore, it’s you and that thorny bastard. I can’t stand seeing any of you Cuchulainns whatsoever.”

Cu Alter smirked, “Big talk for someone who takes forever trying to kill an army in the simulator. Guess it’s too much to ask for my own offspring to be as powerful as me.”

“Hmph.”

“Anyway, the long and short of it is that Caster and I noticed something peculiar about you two, so we decided to infiltrate your minds the moment you made contact with the kid. Looks like our intuition was right.”

“P-Peculiar?” Connla Alter stammered and clenched his teeth.

“Oh? Did I hit a nerve? Is it possible that Caster and I are on to your little secret?”

Connie glanced up at her brother and wondered, “Secret?”

He ignored her and yelled, “You say that like it’s no big deal to just barge into someone else’s dreams! How the hell did you pull it off!?”

“Come on, Scathach should have taught you the basics of the Laguz Rune,” Cu Caster chuckled. “The Rune of subconscious and evolutionary process?”

“Ugh. Goddamn hag…”

“Ringing any bells now? Yeah, I used Laguz on myself and Alter to dive into your minds.”

Connie tilted her head, then asked Connla Alter, “You didn’t know about Laguz?”

“Uh, well… I just forgot, that’s all.”

“So you didn’t use Runes to reach me in this dream? How did you get here then?”

“That’s, um… kind of complicated…”

Cu Alter chuckled, then raised Gae Bolg and pointed it at the Alter Ego while declaring, “Looks like you haven’t told her anything yet. As far as she’s concerned, you just popped up and decided to help her clean up the mess building up in her subconsciousness, all without offering any explanations. Guess I was right in tagging along with Caster – I’ll have to beat that stubborn streak out of you.”

“Fuck off, old man,” Connla Alter cursed and brandished his own Gae Bolg. “You’ve got no right to butt into my business.”

“I’m your father. I have every right to be as nosy as I want.”

“W-Wait!” Connie implored. “Can’t we just calm down for a second!? Things are escalating out of control way too quickly here!”

Cu Caster shrugged and muttered, “There’s no reasoning with Alters. Let’s just have them vent some steam for a bit. Don’t worry, we’re still in a dream. Whatever happens here won’t have an effect on the real world.”

“You say that, but-”

“HYAH!” Connla Alter screamed and charged at Cu Alter, clashing his spear against his father’s. The Berserker pushed him off and rushed in to try and pierce him in the gut. He quickly sidestepped and delivered a roundhouse kick to his back, causing the Mad King to stumble forward. Cu Alter whirled around and effortlessly parried another series of fervent spear blows.

“You’re letting your anger control you,” he calmly lectured.

“That’s rich, coming from a guy who turns into a total monster when under _riastrad_ ,” was the retort.

“At least I know when to dial it back. The fact that you explode with rage at even the slightest insult proves how much of an immature kid you are.”

“What do you know!? Don’t go pretending to be all fatherly when you flat out abandoned me all those years ago!”

“Hoh? Is that where all of your bitterness comes from? Then if you want to teach me a lesson, you’re gonna have to do better than that!”

“TEYAAAH!” Connla Alter screamed and energized his Gae Bolg, calling upon the demonic spear’s curse. He wielded it in a javelin-throwing pose, then hurled it at Cu Alter and shouted, **_“Gae Bolg!”_**

**_“Gae Bolg!”_** the Berserker likewise performed the same Noble Phantasm. Both weapons collided with each other, and a storm of crimson sparks crackled around them. Since the twin reversals of cause and effect caused a paradox to occur, both Noble Phantasms effectively canceled each other out, leaving the spears to clatter on the road a good distance away. Connla Alter gasped, then hurried over to retrieve his weapon.

“Fool!” Cu Alter taunted and took chase after him. He jumped over the young man and swiped his clawed hand at his head, but Connla Alter flipped out of the way in time and reclaimed his spear.

At that moment, a massive explosion of raging fire detonated about 50 feet away from them. During their battle, Cu Caster kept Connie preoccupied with numerous offensive spells and barriers that she needed to fend off. Her Runecraft was not as potent compared to his, but she could tell that he was taking it easy with her by purposely using the same types of Runecraft to match her skill level. This explosion was caused when they launched particularly large Ansuz Runes at each other, and the fireballs detonated into a firestorm.

The blast caused Connie to slide along the ground like a curling stone on a sheet of ice. She tried to stop herself by skidding her feet, but she accidentally smashed against Cu Alter’s leg, and she cried out, “Whoa!?”

“Guh!?” he gasped and stumbled backwards. Suddenly, one of Cu Caster’s spells intended for Connie instead slammed Cu Alter’s back and knocked him face-down upon the dirt.

As Connie stumbled back to her feet and cringed, Connla Alter laughed exuberantly and shouted, “Fwah hah hah hah hah! That’s a perfect look for you, old man!”

“I’m sorry!” the child Lancer squealed sheepishly. “I didn’t mean to hit you like that!”

Cu Caster likewise winced at his mistake and grunted, “Sorry, man.”

Cu Alter was beyond livid at this point. A blood-red aura surrounded him as he got back up, reared Gae Bolg behind him, then slashed it upwards while screaming, **_“DON’T MAKE A FOOL OUT OF ME!”_**

A blast of pure crimson energy ripped through the ground and launched itself at the siblings. Both Connlas ducked out of the way and fled the scene, under cover of a thick layer of dusty smoke generated from the massive red explosion. They retreated behind an old bus parked in a repairman’s garage, and Connie sat there with a rigid expression of fear on her face while Connla Alter peeked out the corner to see what was going on.

_“You can’t hide from me!”_ they heard Cu Alter’s enraged voice. Then another red energy blast tore through the air as he screamed, _“COME HERE!”_

“W-Wh-Wh-What do we do!?” Connie shuddered. “Father’s totally angry with us now!”

“Tch. We don’t have time to mess around with those jokers,” Connla Alter muttered. “Is there some way you can defeat Caster as quickly as possible? If he’s out of the picture, then that barrier surrounding us will disappear, and we can wake back up.”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea? Even if we get out of here, who’s to say they won’t just drag us into the simulator and continue this fight from there?”

“Ugh… Good point. Guess it’s better to just settle things here and now.”

“I’m rather curious to know what prompted them to invade this dream in the first place. They still haven’t offered an explanation for that… Well, that goes for you too, Alter.”

“…”

“Alter?”

With a disparaging grunt, he huffed, “Fine. I hope you still got a few tricks up your sleeve, ‘cause we’re going back into the fray.”

“Eh? Just like that? Shouldn’t we retreat and set up some kind of trap?”

“They can monitor us wherever we go. Pulling off some kind of surprise attack isn’t going to work. Might as well just beat their faces into the ground and force them to talk!”

“I suppose so.”

“Good stuff. Are you ready?”

“Any time you are.”

“All right… _Let’s do this!_ "

* * *

Cu Alter sauntered along the road with a dirty glare in his eyes. To say that he was in a terrible mood was _quite_ the understatement. Cu Caster remained several feet behind his counterpart and uttered, “Chill out, dude. It was just a mistake.”

“I don’t give a rat’s ass about that,” the Berserker snarled. “What I can’t stand is that idiot mocking me when he doesn’t realize how much of a bigger fool he is.”

“You say that, but he knows exactly what’s going on here.”

“And he’s waving that knowledge in front of the kid like a carrot on a stick.”

“Ahh, so that’s what this whole thing’s about. You want him to tell her the truth, don’t you?”

“His behavior makes me sick. He constantly stalks her like he’s her shadow or something, demanding that she better herself so she doesn’t make him worry so much. Yet he’s the one holding the key to improving her Spirit Origin, and he won’t relinquish it to her whatsoever. It’s like he enjoys picking on her. I’m not going to let that bastard get away with this any longer.”

Cu Caster scratched the back of his head, then said, “You might be right, but I don’t think that’s the entire story. He could be holding back the truth because she might not be able to handle it.”

Cu Alter angrily glared back at him. “Are you on that idiot’s side or what?”

“No, that’s not what I-“

“Does no one have any faith in the kid? Is she just some weakling that needs to be protected all the time?”

“Uh…”

“If she found out no one had any trust in her ability to cope with reality, it might devastate her more than this truth that the idiot is hiding from her.”

Cu Caster widened his eyes, surprised to hear his counterpart say such things. Cu Alter scoffed, “Fine, then. I’ll believe in her, even if none of you will.”

The druid became tense for a moment. He then wondered, “Is it because you know about that Singularity which got Connie inscribed in the Throne of Heroes?”

“Maybe.”

“I see, I see! You must have witnessed some side of her that no one else knows about! You act all distant towards her, but you’re actually worried about her, aren’t you? That’s the textbook definition of a _tsundere_ if I’ve ever seen one! Ha ha ha ha!”

“Shut that anus-shaped hole you call a mouth. The only reason I’m doing this is because… Hm!?”

Cu Caster stopped chuckling when he saw Cu Alter become shocked for no discernible reason. He wondered, “Huh? What’s the matter?”

The Berserker instantly rushed past him and raised Gae Bolg in a defensive posture.

**_CLANG! CLANG!_ **

Two different spears clashed against his in a violent whirlwind, exploding in bursts of bright green and deep indigo. Cu Alter had noticed a pair of figures emerging from behind a dilapidated building and rushing straight for Cu Caster’s back when he wasn’t looking.

“Gwah!?” Cu Caster yelped and leapt back in surprise.

Cu Alter snarled once he saw Connla Alter and Connie’s determined expressions as they struggled to overcome his brutal strength together. Then Connie flipped forward, planted one foot on Cu Alter’s shoulder, and used him as a platform to launch herself toward Cu Caster. He tried to ready some Runes, but Connie was way too quick for him and she smashed her knee against his face.

She landed in a crouch, then gasped. She noticed Cu Alter’s large figure land behind her, and he proceeded to swing Gae Bolg at her back. The blade was immediately deflected by Connla Alter’s strike, though Connie couldn’t see because he pushed her out of the way. Cu Alter glared at Connla Alter, then glowered, “If you really want to unleash your inner beast, then don’t waste your time protecting someone else. Or is it that you believe the kid deserves to be treated like some helpless princess?”

“Tch!”

Connla Alter didn’t want to admit it aloud. His tense expression was admission enough for the older warrior though. Cu Alter craned his neck, then muttered, “Well, don’t worry. I didn’t have any intention of harming the kid. I just want to see how serious you were.”

Connla Alter didn’t seem to hear his father’s apology as he roared, “Do you intend to hurt her the same way Aife did!? I bet you do! She’s an easy target for you to grind your spiky heel into, isn’t she!?”

“Hoh. Looks like I was right. If you really are that pissed off, then go all out and make me regret it.”

Connla Alter let out an intense battle cry and swung his Gae Bolg against Cu Alter’s Gae Bolg in a dazed frenzy. The Berserker’s smile was twisted as he shouted, “That’s more like it! I don’t mind people who get right down to business!”

They slashed at each other with no mercy, tearing up the road and buildings around them. Even amidst this chaos, Connla Alter kept thinking back to the advice Connie gave him before they launched their assault:

_“Relying on your anger and brute strength isn’t going to work against Cu Alter. When dealing with a Berserker who only cares about being the strongest, you have to counter with your wits and a solid strategy.”_

_“But what am I supposed to do? I’m not good with plans and tactics like you are.”_

_“Try giving him openings on purpose. If he goes for those, then you’ll have a better time predicting his movements, and he’ll in turn expose his own weaknesses to you.”_

_“Deliberately giving him chances to strike, huh? But that’s like admitting I’m inferior to him.”_

_“Inferiority isn’t always a bad thing. If superiority is akin to a sword, then inferiority is like the shield. Superiority always leads to arrogance, but inferiority always keeps that in check with humility. So long as you don’t let your pride get in the way, then acknowledging that you’re inferior to your opponent will help you stay focused. After all, a strong shield will always win against a brittle sword. That’s the way I always fight.”_

_“Hmm… Guess I could give that a try.”_

Connie’s words kept echoing in Connla Alter’s mind. He hated admitting that he was weaker than Cu Alter. Yet, being caught in the middle of a furious onslaught that could tear apart entire armies made that reality an even harder pill to swallow. His full-body armor kept being punctured and lacerated through like it wasn’t even there. Connla Alter knew it all too well; every one of Cu Alter’s strikes were meant to kill. The precision and force behind each thrust of the spiky crimson lance were outright terrifying. Even so, he was controlling where those blows were going to be aimed at. With the random element nearly removed from the equation though, he didn’t feel quite as intimidated by his more powerful father.

It was difficult to say that the easily-angered young man was gaining unflappable nerves of steel. Despite this, he felt more relaxed knowing that he had his sister’s advice to help him. After all, she had fought against Cu Alter in the Nevada Singularity and overcame such overwhelming odds by herself. Why couldn’t Connla Alter do the same here?

After blocking another blow, the Alter Ego spread his arm out to expose his shoulder. Cu Alter saw this and shouted, _“You’re wide open!”_

He thrust Gae Bolg straight for the limb, but Connla Alter instantly whirled aside faster than he realized. He then poured all of his strength into delivering a mighty punch at his backside, hurtling him clean through a storefront window. Cu Alter picked himself up beneath some toppled shelves and mannequins, clearly looking more irate than before.

Connla Alter laughed, “Now who’s the one letting their anger control them!? Shut your goddamn mouth and go back to school, hypocrite!”

“One more chuckle out of you and I’ll tear your face off! HAH!”

Cu Alter barged back through the window and pointed his blade at the cocky young man.

* * *

Back on the opposite side of the road, Connie ran toward Cu Caster and hopped over some ensnaring tree trunks that he summoned with his magic. With a deft flip and leap, she wormed her way through the entrapment and bashed her feet against his chest.

Cu Caster smacked backwards on the pavement, but quickly recovered and conjured a T-shaped symbol in his hand, then shouted, “Tiwaz!”

Connie instantly realized what he was going to do and twirled out of his range seconds before he slammed his energized fist into the wall behind her. The masonry exploded, then shattered into pieces and crumbled around him. Cu Caster spread his hand across and generated a series of Runes that shot fireballs at Connie. She likewise cast the same spell and canceled his barrage with her own Runes, and flames exploded in the space between them. She skittered along the road at a frantic pace, outrunning more fireballs that launched for her. She then ducked low beneath Cu Caster, appearing before him so suddenly that he had no time to react. She swung her spear in an upwards arc, and he jerked his head back just enough that the blade only cut through his cheek.

The druid snarled angrily, then jammed his staff upon the ground and conjured a series of thick tree roots, commanding them to both encase him for protection and to swarm at Connie. She stumbled away and flipped about to avoid being skewered. Once she made enough distance between them, she crouched and glared as the roots receded around Cu Caster.

He lowered his hood, wiped the blood off his cheek, and remarked with a smile, “You might be small, but you’ve got guts.”

“…”

“But now I know for sure that I can’t leave you alone like this. Your brother was right about you overworking yourself all the time. That gigantic monster that Cu Alter and I defeated is proof that you’re forcing yourself to contain your real emotions. If you keep this up, those dark feelings will indeed spawn a genuine threat that some bad guy can take advantage of. I would rather die than allow that to happen. Cu Alter felt the same way, so that’s why we’re here – to help tidy up this mess building up inside your Spirit Origin.”

Connie frowned, then murmured, “All of you keep saying my ‘true feelings’, but I don’t know what they’re supposed to be. How do I know I’m actually expressing them?”

“Well now,” he scratched the back of his head. “Are there things that you wish you could say, but never had the courage to do so?”

“No, I don’t think so…”

“You’re lying.”

“Uh?”

“This wasteland wouldn’t be so huge if you were honest with yourself. You’re hiding a lot more than anyone can imagine. No matter what it takes, _I’m going to force you to come clean!_ ”

With that roar, Cu Caster twirled his staff upon his hand and chanted, “My Magecraft is a cage of flames! A flaming yet verdant giant! A shrine that purifies the evils of human affairs!”

Connie tensed up with fear and realized, _His Noble Phantasm!?_

“Come forth, destroyer! **_Wicker Man!_** ”

Acting on raw instinct, the young Lancer used a series of platform Runes to hop high above moments before a magic circle opened up, allowing a gigantic figurine made out of cross-stitched wood and straw to emerge. It spotted Connie and thrust its arm at her in a punching motion, but she easily evaded it and vaulted along it like a gymnast. It tried to grab her with its other arm, yet she bounded out of the way and left behind some Ansuz Runes to detonate around the hand, incinerating any wood caught in the blaze.

Cu Caster narrowed his eyes and muttered, “Tricky little thing, aren’t you?”

As Connie landed back on the pavement, the Wicker Man raised its foot and attempted to stomp her like she was an ant. Just then, a tremendous gust of wind swirled around her and made the giant stumble back clumsily. With a breathy whisper, she murmured, “Concealed identities… Blinking vignettes… Unsolved mysteries… **_Laoch Gan Finsceal!_** ”

She disappeared in an imperceptible flurry, then tore through the Wicker Man’s bindings, ricocheting along dozens of platform spells she created so she resembled a high-speed bullet blasting through the target at random directions. The giant doll quickly lost its structure and collapsed to the ground as a pile of useless wood shavings. She wasn’t done yet though – once the Wicker Man was defeated, she turned towards Cu Caster and shot straight for him. He raised his staff and cast the best shield Rune he could make to parry her. Both of them skid along the pavement, and he glared into her eyes.

_That gaze…_

He remembered that vapid look in her irises all too well. She had the same empty expression as when they fought back when they were alive. Connie wasn’t angry, sad, or even enjoying herself. She was just going through the motions, numbing her mind to all except defeating her opponent. At that time, the original Cuchulainn couldn’t understand why she would behave this way. Now as a Servant, and having seen what Connie was like in her daily life at Chaldea, Cu Caster finally understood what was wrong.

_She’s scared._

Once the energy in her Noble Phantasm receded, she flipped off of him and landed several feet away.

_She’s terrified of opening up to anyone._

He instantly realized what the source of her terror was.

_Aife… Did you brutally punish her if she ever tried to be honest with you? Did the kid have to shut herself from the world to protect herself from you?_

Without hesitation, Connie quietly ran at Cu Caster and swung her spear at his face once more. He blocked it with his staff, then enchanted it with fire magic so he would fling around a rod of pure flames. They engaged in a fierce duel for a few seconds, but it was clear that Connie possessed the advantage in melee combat due to being a Lancer. Even though Cu Caster’s body remembered what it was like to fight as a spearman, his agility wasn’t as high as he would have liked. Whenever he attempted to strike her down, she would dodge faster than one could blink.

He swung his staff upward to try and hit her face. She craned her chin upward and narrowly avoided it, then flipped backwards and landed in a crouching position. They stared at each other for a few moments, gauging what the other would do next.

“Ngh… Kah… **_HYAAA~AAA~AAAHH!?”_**

Connie snapped out of her vapid delirium and immediately gazed at Connla Alter. He was the one who let out that unexpected scream of agony. She gasped, “Alter?”

Cu Caster knew that something was wrong, and he ran in front of his daughter to protect her from whatever was happening to him. Likewise, Cu Alter stood tall and glared at his son with fierce eyes and snarling teeth. Connla Alter thrashed about like a rabid animal, clearly looking to be in pain, and his red eyes glowed ominously. Most of his upper armor disappeared as he howled in a guttural yell, _“Caged beast locked in my soul! Be set free and inspire fear in your enemies!”_

White and blue fur grew all over Connla Alter’s body, his physical gait changed to a more canine stance, and a dark spiked mask covered his mutating eyes.

**_“Arracht Míofar!”_** †

A wolf’s howl bellowed all around the city as he completed his transformation into his werewolf persona. Connie couldn’t believe what she was seeing. She covered her mouth in abject horror, unable to tear her eyes away from her brother’s monstrous form. She whimpered, “W-What’s… going on…?”

“Stay behind me!” Cu Caster implored. “No matter what you do, don’t go anywhere near him!”

She barely heard him. Her fear escalated so dramatically that she wound up losing her mind. As if everything was coming back in full circle, she actually felt a lot calmer than usual. That was just proof that she had momentarily gone insane though.

“Shit!” the druid cursed and shook her shoulders. “Hey, snap out of it! Everything’s gonna be fine! Just stay with me!”

“…”

“Hey! Say something, dammit!”

“…”

_“Connie!”_

Just then, a huge presence loomed over Cu Caster, and he glared back in shock. His body was suddenly tossed aside, and he smashed through a brick wall.

**_“Get your hands off her, scum!”_** Connla Alter screamed with all his soul. **_“I won’t allow it! I won’t allow anyone to hurt her anymore! Anyone who makes her suffer will be slaughtered!”_**

Cu Alter charged in from behind and thrust Gae Bolg at the werewolf’s midsection. His hide was so tough that the blade grazed by, only causing a slight scratch. Connla Alter slashed his clawed hand at his father’s face, tearing a good portion of meat off his cheek and sending him tumbling along the road.

_“You idiot!”_ Cu Alter raged angrily. _“Can’t you see that you’re making her suffer as well!?”_

**_“I… I…”_ **

Connla Alter glared at his sister’s empty expression. That was when he realized something:

This was the first time Connie was seeing him as a werewolf.

Back in the alternate Fifth Singularity, he did indeed turn into a beast and fight against the Immortal Sons… But that was _after_ he struck Connie down and rendered her unconscious. She was thus unable to witness his transformation back then, so she had no idea about this bestial side her brother kept hidden. Seeing it here was quite the traumatic shock to her. Whenever she was faced with horrors like this, her thoughts always blanked out to the point that she refused to speak – it was a technique she developed to cope with Aife’s horrific abuse, by canceling out her thoughts and emotions entirely so she could just ride it out patiently. This was precisely the abnormality that Cu Caster picked up earlier.

Unbeknownst to the siblings, when Connie was rendered catatonic like this, Connla Alter’s fury would skyrocket to intense levels. It was like an inverse reaction that their Spirit Origins shared – if one’s emotional levels dropped to zero, the other’s would elevate to dangerous levels.

“This is bad…” Cu Alter muttered darkly. “Both of them have gone completely mad.”

With Cu Caster incapacitated, he had to fight against his mutated son and snap him back to his senses somehow. It was going to be extremely difficult, even for one of Chaldea’s most powerful Berserkers. If the original Cuchulainn ever had any worthy opponents in his life, Connla would definitely be one of the top three. With Connla Alter completely unhinged like this, this battle was going to push Cu Alter to the brink and beyond. He knew that utilizing his Noble Phantasm was going to mean the difference between victory and defeat here.

“Unleashing all curses, without hesitation,” he murmured, and a dark haze surrounded his entire body. It dissipated, revealing him wearing a set of heavy, scaly black armor that encased his head and lower arms. _“Now you face against despair itself!”_

Connla Alter grit his teeth, then let out a demonic laugh and howled while charging at him, “You? Despair itself? _Don’t make me laugh! **I’ll show you what real hell is like!”**_

Connie stood there and watched in total silence as both Alters charged at each other like oncoming storms. Connla Alter had indeed become immensely powerful after transforming into his werewolf form. He was so strong that one of his swipes of Gae Bolg cleaved through a thick concrete wall diagonally, leaving the loosened structure to slide off and collapse onto the road. However, Cu Alter’s defenses helped to counter his son’s outrageous strength. His heavy claws barely reacted to the Alter Ego’s spear, and he overcame him with a series of vicious slashes and stabs.

**_“Curruid Coinchenn!”_** Cu Alter called out, then thrust his talon into Connla Alter’s abdomen. Multiple copies of Gae Bolg exploded out of his back, spraying tremendous amounts of blood everywhere. Some of it even splattered on Connie’s face, but she barely reacted to it.

**_“Ke heh… KEH HAH HAH HAH HAH!”_** Connla Alter laughed. Although he was in excruciating pain, he no longer cared. He actually pulled one of the Gae Bolgs out of his body and slammed it upon Cu Alter’s helmet, fracturing it and revealing his astonished face.

_“Stubborn shit!”_ the Berserker snarled and backed away.

“You’re not getting away!” the wounded Alter Ego taunted and took chase. Both monsters continued engaging in a violent duel of talons, spears and blood that would make even the most battle-hardened soldier retch in revulsion. All through this carnage, Connie remained perfectly still, as if she were a statue standing tall against a ferocious tornado. She couldn’t feel anything except the urge to find a comfortable bed and sleep forever.

As Cu Alter struggled against Connla Alter, he shifted his eyes toward her. In the back of his mind, he thought, _It’d be easier if I could get to the kid and snap her out of it. If their Spirit Origins really are connected, then Connla Alter should calm down once he sees she’s okay._

While he was distracted, the werewolf grabbed his head and smashed him into the pavement. He tried to crush his father’s head beneath his heel, but the Berserker rolled out of the way. He got back to his feet and made his black armor disappear, then resummoned Gae Bolg in his hand and bellowed, “FEAR ME!”

Connla Alter felt some kind of mad pressure overwhelm him, which made him lose his focus for a short while. This was Madness of the Spirits, the embodiment of Cu Alter’s battle roar that reduced his opponents’ morale. He wouldn’t be deterred though. If Cu Alter was trying to rattle his spirit by acting as a terrifying monster, then all Connla Alter had to do was become even more terrifying than that.

“Fear you? What a joke?” the werewolf grinned. “If you wanna instill fear in your opponents… THIS IS HOW YOU DO IT!”

He bellowed a loud wolf’s howl that echoed throughout the entire region. Cu Alter couldn’t believe what he was hearing. His soul vibrated with a kind of despair he hadn’t experienced in a long time. It was that very same crippling, dreadful feeling that overcame him when he killed the original Connla.

That was… When he murdered his beloved son.

Did Connla Alter realize he could use those emotions as a weapon against Cu Alter? He must have, or else it wouldn’t have been so effective at disorienting him. If one were to turn this skill into a game mechanic, it would have paralyzed the enemy with various debuffs, as well as eliminating any vital survival buffs like Guts or Protection From Arrows, not too dissimilar from Hessian Lobo’s skill Adorning Death. Whatever advantages Cu Alter possessed against Connla Alter had been removed by disrupting his indomitable spirit, leaving him dangerously vulnerable to the younger Servant’s impending onslaught.

Connla Alter wasted no time going after his father. With Gae Bolg in one hand and sharpened claws in the other, the Alter Ego pounced upon the Berserker with merciless abandon. Cu Alter couldn’t read his movements at all. Deep cuts spontaneously slashed open all over his body. His rage intensified each time he endured that searing pain. It was fine through – physical pain was no big deal. He was designed to withstand torture like this.

What Cu Alter couldn’t stand was seeing his family suffer. His eyes kept shifting towards the impassive Connie, then back to Connla Alter. How much worse was the emotional pain his children were going through? Was Cu Alter actually enduring this much agony so he could begin to understand them a little better? He didn’t put up much resistance beyond blocking the fatal attacks, after all. Even so, while he harbored no grudge towards Connie, he couldn’t deny that he was outright _pissed off_ at Connla Alter for his stupidity.

“You…”

“What? Got something to say, old man?” Connla Alter taunted. “Save your breath! You’re gonna be drowning in your blood anyw-!”

**_“YOU GODDAMN FOOL!”_ **

The Alter Ego yelped in shock as he was suddenly sent flying backwards. He sensed a sharp crimson wind rushing at his face, and he instinctively jerked his canine head back to avoid being decapitated.

_SHII~IIING!_

Cu Alter swung his Gae Bolg in a singular swipe that was so powerful that it cleaved through a tall apartment complex. Connla Alter fell onto his back, totally stunned that his enemy got in such a devastating attack despite being barraged so viciously. As they glared at each other, they noticed the destroyed apartment building slide off and topple.

Unfortunately, Connie was directly in its line of collapse. What’s worse, she didn’t even acknowledge the danger she was in, never mind make any attempt to escape. It all happened so quickly that neither of the Alters could do anything but widen their eyes and yell in total shock. They wanted to rescue her, but they were too far away to reach her in time.

Just then, a series of Runes flared on the ground around the child Lancer, and tree roots blasted out of the road. They ensnared the falling building, acting as a net to catch any debris that would have crushed her. Then Cu Caster dashed in from behind and snatched Connie’s waist with his arm before taking her away, while chastising at Cu Alter, “Would you be more careful next time, dumbass!? You almost turned the kid into a pancake!”

“Tch…”

“Well, never mind that! Just keep him away from me while I snap her out of it!”

**_“NOOO~OOO! LEAVE HER ALONE!”_** Connla Alter screamed uncontrollably, shuffling to his feet so he could try to take chase. **_“SHE’S MINE! ONLY I CAN PROTECT HER! I’M THE ONLY ONE WHO UNDERSTANDS HER PAIN AND SUFFERING!”_**

_“Get a grip, you idiot!”_ Cu Alter shouted and charged at him, battering his entire body mass against the werewolf and smashing him through another storefront window. Cu Alter wrapped his hands around Connla Alter’s throat and raged, “We know you love her to bits! We really get that! We Cus couldn’t be happier to know you adore her! But if you’re going to treat everyone around her as a threat, then she might wind up being too scared to make friends because of you! How is that any different than Aife isolating her from the rest of the world to manipulate her!? Huh!? Tell me! _How is that any different!?_ ”

**_“YOU… HOW DARE YOU…”_ **

Connla Alter snatched Cu Alter’s wrists and dug his claws into the flesh. Through brute force alone, he freed himself from his father’s chokehold and slowly stood back up.

**_“HOW DARE YOU COMPARE ME TO THAT HARLOT!”_ **

Cu Alter immediately realized he had pushed Connla Alter’s absolute worst button imaginable. For all of his incredible strength and prowess, further boosted by him being in the Berserker class, none of that meant anything when his son’s power apparently increased in proportion to his anger. And if Cu Caster’s hypothesis was true, then it meant that Connie’s anger was completely absent to compensate. In a way, Connla Alter was leeching off of Connie’s emotions to boost his Spirit Origin to dangerously high levels. How would such a trade-off affect the siblings afterwards? Would it be lethal to them in the long run? Was there a way to keep this under control?

More importantly than that though, something kept bothering Cu Alter the whole time:

Why did this connection exist in the first place?

* * *

Meanwhile, Cu Caster had taken Connie to a safe place around a kilometer away from the deadly battle. He brought her inside a wrecked café, sat her down at one of the tables, then kneeled before her and implored, “Come on, kiddo, you need to get a hold of yourself. This is the absolute worst I’ve ever seen you in.”

“…”

“Do you really want to do this to yourself? Don’t you want to be a productive Servant for Chaldea? You’re not going to accomplish anything by just sitting here and rotting away.”

“…”

Cu Caster sighed in dismay. Connie was so still and silent that she looked like a perfectly-crafted porcelain doll. He wasn’t sure if she was still breathing. But he wasn’t going to stop talking. Even if he was foolishly grasping at straws, he would keep trying. Whatever it took, he had to save her mind from total collapse. If he couldn’t, she would probably die from grief and go back to the Throne. That would be an unexpected shock to the Masters, and they would demand to know what happened. What frightened him even more was what Connla Alter’s reaction would be if he discovered his sister was dead.

He refused to conceive the notion. He simply wouldn’t let it get to that point.

“Look, I get you’re scared. You’re in such despair that death would be most welcome right now. Maybe my voice doesn’t even reach you anymore. But you need to think about your brother. You saw what happened to him, didn’t you?”

“…”

“Wasn’t that transformation so painful for him? Don’t you want to do something about it? Don’t you want to stop him before he hurts someone?”

“…”

“I know you can do it. In fact, I’d say you’re the only one he’ll listen to anymore. He’s shown how much he loves and respects you. If you stand firm and command him to stand down, he’ll obey you. If you don’t, he’ll go on causing more mayhem while being torn apart from the inside. You have to be the one to take charge and tell him what he can and can’t do.”

Finally, a small glimmer of hope reached Cu Caster.

“… But…” Connie murmured quietly. “… But that’s like… saying… Brother’s… an animal…”

He had to keep his excitement under control. He remained stoic and said, “Hey, if he wants to act like a rabid mutt, then he has no right to complain about being treated like one.”

“Um…”

“Get in there and punch his face when he misbehaves. Yell at him if he’s scaring anyone. Astound him with your smarts if he doesn’t understand something. Do it over and over again if you have to. The Masters will thank you for housebreaking that wild rebel and turning him into a valuable ally for Chaldea.”

“You really think… I can do that?”

“’Course you can. It’ll help a lot more if you found out the secret he’s been keeping from you.”

“His secret…”

“Come on, let’s go see him. No more pulling the wool over your eyes. This time, we’re gonna make him come clean.”

Connie stared into Cu Caster’s eyes for a short while. Then, she nodded lightly and took his hand.

* * *

AUTHOR’S NOTE:

† - “Hideous Monster”


	3. Alter Ego, Pt. III

**_“RRRAAA~AAA~AAAGH!”_** Connla Alter screamed as he plummeted upon Cu Alter, bearing his sharpened talons with full intent to rip him into shreds. Cu Alter leapt aside, then snatched his mutated son’s wrists and tried to pin him against the nearby wall. They struggled against each other, and Connla Alter even bit down hard on Cu Alter’s shoulder.

“Gh!” the Mad King snarled, realizing that he was losing a lot of blood. He wasn’t worried though – this was still a dream, so he would be fine once he woke up. It was more important to him that he got Connla Alter under control somehow. If he woke up while still in this state, everyone in Chaldea would be in great danger. Desperation took him over, and he grabbed Connla Alter’s fur before hurling him across the road.

The Alter Ego landed on his hind legs and got into all fours like a proper wolf. He unleashed a feral howl, then charged at his father and swiped his claws. It was blocked with Gae Bolg, but the frenzy hardly ceased as they engaged in another deadly dance of blades and bloodlust. Soon though, Cu Alter lost his balance when his spiked heel caught a broken piece of road. Connla Alter was on top of him, ready to plunge his hand into his chest and rip his beating heart out.

_“ALTER!”_

He instantly stopped when he heard the little girl’s scream. Both Servants looked over at the side road to find Connie and Cu Caster. The Lancer stood behind the Caster, staring at her brother with sadness in her eyes.

**_“C… CONN… IE?”_** Connla Alter gasped in a guttural growl. **_“WHY ARE YOU… STOPPING ME?”_**

Cu Caster became irate as he shouted, “Why wouldn’t she!? She finally gets to be with family members who love her, and yet we’re going at each other’s throats because we can’t decide how to make her happy! She wants us to calm down and settle this with words, not with violence and hatred!”

**_“BUT… I HAVE TO… PROTECT HER. I HAVE TO… KEEP HER… SPIRIT ORIGIN… SAFE. I’M THE ONLY ONE… WHO CAN DO IT. BECAUSE I’M… I’M HER…”_ **

“AAAAGH! _Don’t you get it!?_ You, me, Cu Alter, Cu Lancer, Aife, Scathach… We’re _all_ responsible for allowing so much garbage to build up inside Connie’s Spirit Origin! We want to do what we can to help, but we can’t do a goddamn thing if you keep pushing us away from her with these epic temper tantrums! You know what’ll happen if this keeps up, don’t you? _More_ garbage will just pile up that you’ll have to clean!”

**_“WHA…?”_ **

“If her overworking habits created one huge monster, you think it won’t be any different if some self-imposed solitude caused the same thing to happen all over again!?”

“…”

“Get it through your thick skull already! If you want to keep her safe that much, then you need to cooperate with the rest of us! Her friends, family, mentors, and even the Masters should get to know her better! That’s the best way to help her unload all of her pent-up stress!”

“Uh… Uuuh… It’s not fair… It’s not fair…”

Connla Alter kept mumbling those words over and over again.

“It’s not fair… It’s not fair… It’s not fair…”

“That’s it,” Cu Caster softly implored. “Let it out. Tell us what you really feel. Even if it hurts, shout with all your soul. You also need to unload your built-up stress too.”

If the dream world, the Cus’ appearances, and Connla Alter’s transformation weren’t shocking enough, what Connie heard next was downright appalling:

_“Why did you abandon me, Father!? Why didn’t you wait for Mother to give birth to me!? You could have taken me to Ireland with you! I could have been raised by the same people who took care of you! Instead, you just left me behind without giving a damn about me or the trauma you put Mother through! You went on to be a hero, all while leaving me to suffer Mother’s wrath in obscurity! She treated me like crap, but I endured it! I figured it would be worth if I got to meet you someday!_

_“But I was killed by you, completely and utterly without hesitation! I idolized you, and yet I wasn’t important to you at all! I existed just to be stomped on and thrown away! My death is just another notch on your belt, isn’t it!? I’ll never forgive you, Cuchulainn! I’ll hate you forever and ever, even beyond the end of time itself! You can go to hell and rot for eternity for all I care! **UWAAA~AAA~AAAHHH!** ”_

Connla Alter screamed those words at both Cuchulainns, unleashing every iota of his pent-up rage and frustration upon them. However, the most surprising thing wasn’t what he was saying:

It was that he was saying everything _in_ _Connie’s voice_.

The little girl widened her eyes in total astonishment. She shivered uncontrollably. Upon hearing that voice, the truth became abundantly clear to her now, and she snapped out of her mind-numbing insanity.

“Y-You’re kidding… right?” Cu Alter gasped, almost forgetting to breathe. He was finding this out just as much as Connie was.

Cu Caster was the only one who didn’t act surprised whatsoever. He just sullenly murmured, “I knew it. _That’s_ why their Spirit Origins are connected.”

Connla Alter reeled back and grabbed his face to help steady himself. His pounding headache threatened to make him sick. He kept control of himself though and snarled in his own voice, “Damn it… Damn it, damn it, damn it!”

Cu Alter asked him, “Is this what you were trying to keep from us, boy?”

“Guuuh… Unnngh!”

“Why didn’t you tell us something so important? Did you think you could handle this on your own?”

“S-Shut up. I don’t want pity… from the guy who… murdered me.”

“You know that was a mistake brought on by your mother’s manipulations. If I had known who you were, I never would have killed you.”

“You lie. Ulster’s honor… was more important… than my fleeting, miserable, insignificant little life.”

“Stop doing this to yourself. Fool or not, you’re still my child. Even if I have to be summoned a million times and fight a billion bloody battles to make up for it, then I’ll gladly do so. Put me through this kind of nightmare all you want. But you need to stop doing this to your sister. She did nothing to deserve being dragged through her own mental hellscape, fighting against monsters she doesn’t understand while being left ignorant of your real nature. If anything is unfair, it’s been your treatment of her in this place.”

“… You’re probably right.”

The werewolf stood there for a bit, contemplating what his father told him. After a short, overdramatic pause, he then murmured, “You said you don’t mind being put through such a nightmare…?”

“Yeah. What of it?”

Connla Alter suddenly snatched Gae Bolg and aimed it at his heart!

**_“THEN DIII~IIIE!”_ **

“Guh!?” Cu Alter yelped, taken aback by the Alter Ego’s instantaneous bloodlust.

**_“STOOO~OOOP!”_ **

The shrill shriek echoed throughout the entire city, and made him halt unexpectedly. He felt a pair of small arms tightly wrap around his lower torso. He glared down and found Connie pressing her face against his furred back.

“Please stop it,” she moaned sadly, trembling like a leaf in the wind.

“You…”

“I get it. I get what’s going on now, Alter.”

“…”

Connla Alter calmed down, dropped Gae Bolg as a gesture of surrender, and gradually morphed back to human form. Cu Caster joined Cu Alter as they observed the siblings’ conversation.

“So you know who I really am?” Connla Alter asked Connie.

“I think so. You’re an Alter Ego Servant not because you’re an aspect of Brother’s… but actually someone split off from _me_.”

He snarled, then sighed, “Son of a bitch. I was hoping you’d never figure it out.”

“I’m not sure how to explain it, but I had an inkling that we had some kind of deep connection. We could sense each other’s presence, and know how we’re feeling without saying anything. No other Servants share that kind of bond with me, and I found that rather strange this whole time. But if you really are some dark aspect of me given form as a Servant, things start to make sense.”

“That’s right,” Cu Caster said. “Connla Alter may have your brother’s appearance, but his soul actually belongs to you. He rages out and lashes at the world because it’s something _you_ actually want to do, isn’t it?”

Connie tensed up wistfully. “That… could be true. I could never bring myself to behave that way, especially when growing up under Mother’s tutelage. Any time I even asked a question she didn’t like answering, she would hit me really hard. Getting angry or sad was simply impossible for me. All I could do was keep those emotions buried deep inside me, and try to forget about them as much as possible while following her demands.”

Cu Alter scowled, “Damn that Medb. When she created Connla Alter, she must have thought she was only perverting the male Connla’s Spirit Origin. Even if you’re from a completely different timeline, you’re still a ‘Connla’ based off of the legend of Cuchulainn’s son. Because of that, she might have inadvertently tapped into your Spirit Origin, extracted those hidden emotions, and blended them in with the male Connla’s data. Your repressed anger plus Connla Lancer’s brotherly desire to protect you resulted in Connla Alter’s extreme personality.”

“I see…”

“Furthermore,” Cu Caster said, “I think you’re actually inverse empaths.”

The child Lancer raised an eyebrow curiously. “Inverse empaths?”

“Empaths are people who can keenly sense the emotions of those around them. That fits you two to a T. But we noticed that whenever you hide your emotions and refuse to talk to anyone, Connla Alter’s violent streak would skyrocket immensely. Likewise, if you’re being vocal and assertive, he winds up calming down.”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive. That means if one of you ‘shuts down’ emotionally, the other will ‘go haywire’ in response.”

Connie became silent, then glanced up at Connla Alter and asked him, “Did you know about this the whole time?”

“… Sort of,” he grumbled bitterly, annoyed that his secret was now out. “I couldn’t put it into words like the robed fart could.”

“Hey!” Cu Caster objected.

The Alter Ego ignored him and continued, “But I had my suspicions that I was connected to you even more than I could imagine. Not only that, whenever I have dreams of my past, I usually wind up seeing things through your perspective, not the male Connla’s. That made me think that while my body is a perversion of Connla Lancer’s, my mind actually belongs to you. Medb never actually ‘corrupted’ my mind, so much as she forced your darkest thoughts to the surface and made them the dominant personality. All so she could have the perfect Servant who could slaughter everyone in their way.”

“So then…” Connie whimpered in fear. “The alternate Fifth Singularity… All of those deaths… The pain, suffering, and chaos… Were they actually my f-“

_“Don’t say it!”_ Connla Alter angrily snapped to silence her. He then turned to the Cus and shouted, “God damn it, this is exactly why I didn’t want to say anything to her! She’d go around thinking that she needs to take responsibility for what happened then!”

Neither of them could respond right away. They couldn’t blame him for wanting to keep this a secret from the overly sensitive little girl. Then Cu Alter smirked and said to Connie, “If you ask me, any dues you had owed have already been paid for.”

“What do you mean?” she wondered.

“When you heard Aife’s insults, and when that idiot challenged you to the fight of your life,” he pointed at Connla Alter, who glared away haughtily. “If anyone has any crazy thoughts about blaming you, I’ll be glad to remind them of the hell you went through by shoving Gae Bolg through their worthless guts.”

“…”

“Feh. Kind of interesting to know that a meek kid like you can hold such a tremendous grudge. But that’s fine. I… Or rather, any Cuchulainn in his right mind would say he deserves it.”

Cu Caster looked forlorn as he nodded and silently agreed with Cu Alter. He then said, “I think there’s another problem we have to address.”

The others grew curious as to what he meant. He explained, “The three of us have different ideas about how to treat Connie. It’s true that we all worry about her and want the best for her, but we’re doing it in our own separate ways. Such disagreements are causing conflict between us, and it winds up putting her through even more unnecessary stress that she thus bottles up. It’s not just us three either – plenty of other staff and Servants who know about her past with Aife want to help her out too.”

“So it’s a matter of all of us deciding what to do for her,” Connla Alter murmured.

“Right. It’s not going to be easy, but if we figure something out, that’ll be less garbage piling up in her Spirit Origin. I’ll talk with the Masters about this and come up with a plan.”

“I think Master Davion needs to know too,” Connie said. “He offered to be my alchemy tutor because he said I reminded him of someone who behaved similarly to me. I’m just not sure if Brother and Kojirou would understand what’s going on though…”

“Then I’ll leave them at your discretion,” Cu Caster said.

“Mm.”

“In the meantime, how about we get back to the waking world? Now that we’ve sorted out our dirty laundry, we’ve got nothing left to do here. No point in staying inside a dream if it’s time to wake up, after all.”

He raised his staff and dispelled the barrier Rune trapping them inside Connie’s dreamscape. Once it shattered, the four Servants floated off the ground and flew into the dark sky.

* * *

The next morning, Connie entered the library feeling absolutely fatigued. Now that she was out of the dream world, she had returned to her adult persona rather than remaining as a child. She let out such a large yawn that Davion couldn’t help but notice. He asked, “Are you feeling okay?”

“I’ll be fine. I had one of those crazy dreams where things happen one after the other without pause.”

“Ah, I know what you mean. You wake up feeling like you just ran a marathon, don’t you?”

“Yeah…” she wiped her eyes. She sat down in the chair next to him and bashfully murmured, “Do you… have a moment? There’s something important I need to talk to you about.”

“Of course. What do you want to tell me?”

“Well, um… I’m not sure if you’re going to believe me or not. Everything that happened was so outrageous that I’m still having trouble understanding it.”

“What do you mean ‘everything that happened’? You mean with the Tower of Babel Singularity?”

“No, not that. I meant with last night.”

“Huh? Nothing happened during the night. You must have passed out during your studies, and your brother brought you back to your room.”

“That’s not quite true. He actually drugged my coffee to make me fall asleep.”

“Did he now?”

She nodded. “He actually wanted to show me something, but it was located deep inside my subconsciousness, and we could only reach it through me being in a dreaming state.”

She told him of the world representing her subconscious mind, and of how her negative emotions manifested as horrifying monsters she needed to fight. She told him of the battles she and Connla Alter went through against the two Cuchulainns, culminating in Connla Alter’s transformation into his werewolf form. She concluded with the truth her brother had been concealing from her, and that everyone needed to work together to make sure this didn’t happen again.

While Davion was certainly intrigued by his pupil’s tale, one part of it kept fascinating him. He soon murmured, “So you’re an inverse empath with your brother, hm?”

“Yeah. His mind split off from mine, but our Spirit Origins are still ‘tethered’ for some reason. Now it’s going to be even harder for me to keep myself in check, knowing that I have to worry about his state of mind too.”

“You think that’s a problem? I think that’s a great opportunity for you.”

“An opportunity? For what?”

“To reign his temper in. If you’re looking for your purpose in Chaldea – something that you, and only you, can do – then you don’t need to look further. You’re the only one who can directly control that fellow’s anger. Even the Masters’ Command Spells can only work so well before their influence wears off. If you can learn to be more assertive with yourself, then he should respond in turn by calming down. Maybe he doesn’t have the greatest personality around, but at least he won’t fly into a murderous rage at the drop of a hat if you demonstrate your authority over him.”

“My authority… I don’t know…” she murmured. “I’m not used to acting like the boss of someone else. I get the feeling that I would be repressing Alter if I did that.”

“I’m not saying you have to change your habits right away. This certainly is a unique conundrum to contend with. But don’t forget that you have lots of people to help you out. If you’re too afraid to dominate over him right now, then ask Cu Alter to assist you. You could also stand to learn some lessons from the other Servants, like the kings and leader-types.”

“Maybe I could do that. But what about our research into Miss Matou’s condition?”

Davion smiled a bit. “Don’t you worry on that front. While I won’t be using everything you proposed here, I’m getting some ideas on what to do. It won’t be long before we make a breakthrough.”

“I see.”

“Although, there is something I want to mention to you,” he said, and his grin quickly faded. “I’ve been hearing rumors here and there about how Rin Matou has been feeling particularly fatigued lately.”

“Fatigued?” Connie wondered and tilted her head.

“It could just be the rigors of being a Master. Still, given how you had to deal with ‘cleaning up’ your subconscious mind of this so-called ‘garbage’ building up inside you, it’s gotten me a little concerned. I highly doubt the same thing is happening to her, but perhaps you should inform the other staff members of what you experienced and see if they can assist Rin from that angle. It’d be good to discount the possibility, at least.”

“I could do that. But I’m so tired from last night that I feel like I could pass out again.”

“Why don’t you take a break from your studies for today? I’m still going through these notes you made yesterday. It’ll take some time before I iron out my plan for Miss Matou.”

“Mm. Maybe a dip in the hot spring will help.”

She left the library and headed for the women’s bath. The Dragonborn sat there for a moment. Then without warning, he spoke to the darkness, “If you worry about her too much and follow her, you might wind up getting a bucket thrown at your face.”

“Shut up,” was Connla Alter’s gruff reply. “I’m not as uncivilized as you think.”

The Alter Ego emerged from his hiding spot and glared at Davion. After an uncomfortable pause, he muttered, “So she told you everything.”

“She sure did. It may sound like a farfetched story to normal people, but this is Chaldea, an organization that contends with correcting anomalies rooted in both reality and fantasy. Fixing problems originating in a dream isn’t so impossible for me to believe. I have to commend you for following Chaldea’s protocol in that regard.”

“Hmph. I couldn’t give any less of a shit about that. All I want is to keep her safe from further abuse. I know she’s a great warrior and academic, so I’m not afraid of her going out on missions. It’s that she’s still gullible when it comes to trusting the wrong people. I… No, we need to keep an extremely sharp eye on her for that reason.”

Davion’s grin returned. “My, my. You’ve really mellowed out, haven’t you? Even just yesterday, you would be fervent about protecting her by yourself. Are you finally allowing others to become a part of her inner circle?”

“I don’t have a choice. If I keep acting like a total bastard, her Spirit Origin’s going to be polluted with more mental garbage. Given how Chaldea is dealing with grandiose villains who want to change human history to fit their petty little whims, I’m terrified of Connie’s inner demons being used as part of someone’s schemes.”

“Hmm…” the Dragonborn’s smile never faltered as he heard this. Before, he was growing more and more frustrated with Connla Alter’s insistence on pushing everyone away from Connie and treating her like some helpless little girl. Now though, hearing the Alter Ego’s new attitude gave him a sense of relief. The changes weren’t going to be immediate, but he felt certain that life was going to be a little easier in Chaldea now that there was a sure-fire way to control Connla Alter’s violent streak.

“What is it, chump? That smirk is beginning to irritate me,” Connla Alter demanded.

“Pardon me. I’m just happy that my pupil understands herself a lot better, and she has her brother to thank for it.”

“… Tch. That kind of sappy talk makes me retch. If you’re gonna continue spewing such drivel, then I’m outta here.”

The Alter Ego scoffed to himself, then left the library to go take a nap. Davion sighed in relief, then returned his attention to his research in silence.


End file.
